Interludes
by Futakuchi Onna
Summary: Ten drabbles inspired by songs. BillyxTeddy, VisionxCassie, ElixKate, mild TommyxKate.


Disclaimer: I don't own Young Avengers.

_1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like._

_2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle._

_3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!_

_4. Do ten of these, then post them._

1. The Hell Song - Sum 41

Eli's fist slammed into Tancredo's jaw. He clipped his leg around, kicking his assailant into the grass. Tancredo scowled, leaping back to his feet. "Bastard!" he shouted. Eli's lip curled.

"You have no idea." He growled.

Tancredo rushed him, all flailing limbs and flying fists. Eli dodged easily, hammering his knee into Tancredo's belly. There. Now he was out for the count.

Eli dodged the wayward kick of one of Tancredo's lackeys. God, he loved this fighting, it was what he was born for.

Super-soldier blood coursed through his veins, and Eli smirked, just a little bit cruelly.

He may not be much of a patriot, but he was definitely a warrior.

2. Flawed Design - Stabilo

Billy slammed his locker door shut, glaring at the ugly black sharpie on the front - messily scrawled insults, 'faggot', 'mutie freak' and worse. So he was a freak, and the idiots who persecuted someone for being a little different were normal? If that was the way things were, maybe he didn't want to be normal.

A foot shot into his path, knocking him down and sending his books sprawling. Barely concealed giggles sounded behind him, and Billy hade to focus tightly to clamp down on the sparks making a nuisance of themselves around his palms. He couldn't electrocute them, much as he might want to.

"Hey, you okay?" Billy glanced up, a smile rushing onto his face. Teddy. The giggles stopped abruptly as Teddy grabbed Billy's hand and didn't let go, only to be replaced by scandalized whispers. Billy rolled his eyes, and Teddy grinned at him. He quietly spoke what Billy was thinking.

"Freaks."

3. When You're Gone - Avril Lavigne

Cassie loved her father,

Cassie thought Scott Lang was the ideal man, the guy she was going to marry.

His death crushed her.

The principal called her out in the middle of math, and Cassie trudged to the office. She thought it would be some small thing - a detention for being late one too many times, or a lecture for fighting at recess. She didn't expect to see her mom sobbing, the principal somber.

When the words hit here ears _he's dead, Cassie_ her knees folded like wet paper, and her mouth could only form nonsense. No, no, no . Not happening. Not possible. He was Ant-Man, he was invincible, he was -

He was dead.

And there was no changing it.

As the sun baked the earth outside, Cassie's soul feel to the floor in her tears, irretrievable.

Gone.

Forever.

Just like dad.

4. Better Days - Goo Goo Dolls

After the rape, Kate didn't ever think her life could be alright again. She was wrong, broken, dirty, and how could she ever fix herself? All hope seemed lost.

Slowly, though, oh so slowly, she threw herself into martial arts, losing herself in the physical, finding solace in the warm, familiar movements, the rhythms of her feet.

Soup kitchens helped, too, to see that she wasn't the worst off, that others had situations far more dire. She ladled out food with a smile that grew less strained over time.

And then she met the Young Avengers, and she was really making a difference, fixing what was broken and helping those whose lives were shattered. And she had friends who were there for Kate the girl, not Kate, Derek Bishop's daughter. She had a best friend, companions, heck even a couple of suitors.

It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.

5. Going Down In Flames - 3 Doors Down

First day in super-juvie, they shoved him into a dank hole with no light and a steady leak, as well as a little metal box in the corner to cancel out his powers. He lost track of how many blood samples they took, how many needles jabbed into his arms

So it was a little understandable how, when he finally got out, he wanted to wreak a little havoc. He'd missed blowing things up, dammit, and zipping around so fast no one could track him. He felt perfectly justified in cracking a few heads no matter what these wannabe mini-Avengers said. Sure, he'd join them, but he wasn't gonna become some vegan peace-lover for some crazy kids he'd just met, no matter how much he looked like the gay one.

Fists flying, this was more of an old-fashioned brawl than a nice, neat, tactical fight, which was fine with him.

Better to go out fighting than to die of old age in a cell.

6. Outside Looking In - Jordan Pruitt

In middle school, everyone ignored Teddy as the slightly weird, skinny blonde kid who didn't have any friends and had never had a date. But a t least they ignored him. In high school, he remembered seeing, on his first day, seniors harassing freshmen, jocks bullying nerds, marked up lockers covered in insults.

He didn't want to, but what else could he do? He had to follow the crowd or end up trampled. He didn't want to be a sheep, he wanted to crush on guys and read comic books, instead of ogling girls and playing football, dammit! But it didn't work like that.

His first day as a Young Avenger, the first thing he realized was that these were kids like him. Billy knew what it was like to get stepped on for who he was. Eli understood wanting to act up sometimes. Iron Lad was odd, but he seemed to get it, too.

Teddy grinned to himself, sometimes, when he realized.

This was what it was like to be true to himself.

It was fantastic.

7. Crawling In The Dark - Hoobastank

He wanted to change the future by fixing the past.

He wanted to make things better somehow, both for himself and for everyone he could _would_ hurt in the future. God, he'd seen what Kang had done, and he desperately didn't want to be that. He sometimes compared himself to Hitler, and wondered what he'd have done in the same circumstances. Really, what does one do when they find they're to become a mass murdered in the future?

He never meant form bonds, get so attached to Wiccan and Hulkling and Patriot that it hurt when they had to par,. Her never meant to fall madly, suddenly in love with Cassie. He never meant to forge a bond of, well, respect, at least, with Kate.

But then, things rarely go according to plan.

8. I'd Lie - Taylor Swift

I am not Iron Lad. I never will be. We are two different people. I sometimes think Cassie does not make that distinction, and it hurts. I think I am just the replacement, the backup robot, failsafe program, etcetera. She is beautiful to me, and I think she could never love me the way I love her.

But then, then she will smile just for me, and whisper my name - Vision, or more often Jonas. And her warm hand will slip into mine, and she will lean against my shoulder.

She will grin and shove my arm, crack a bawdy joke, steal bites of my ice cream - which I cannot actually eat anyways, and I do not think I would mind anyways, if it was just for her.

Times like these, I think that, maybe, just maybe, it's me she sees when she thinks about love.

9. My Freeze Ray - Joss Whedon

I don't think I've ever liked anyone quite like I like Billy,. He's just special, somehow. Maybe it's the eyes, or the way he carries himself, like he's a little scared of what he can do. It's both adorable and saddening. Never thought I'd say _that._

He's just different. I never have to lie to him, or hide anything. If I don't feel like sharing something, he gets that, and doesn't bug me about it, which is nice. He lets me be me, and I let him be him.

I remember, when the team was just forming, we were walking home after a YA meeting, just us two, eleven 'o clock at night, and suddenly he starts talking about Spider-man versus Cap, who would win, and with the streetlights glinting off his hair, he was about the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen. That was when I started crushing on him.

Well. Things kinda spiraled from there, huh?

10. Tonight - FM Static

Eli paced relentlessly. Billy and Teddy were on a date, Cassie and Vision were camping with Cassie's parents, Tommy was God knows where - and Eli _didn't_ want to know - and Kate was in Oregon for a business conference her father wanted her to attend. He was all alone.

His phone rang, and he rummaged it out of his pocket, flicking it open. The blue screen lit up, flashing one new text from Kate's number. _Miss U_.

He grinned and hit reply. _Me 2_.

Her response was instantaneous. _Conference is boring as HELLL!!!1_

_Wish U were here_, he sent.

_Me 2._

_Love U._

_Love U_.


End file.
